West Side Story
by Scarlet182
Summary: One week... Six friends... A trip they will never forget... *Chapter 6 now up*
1. A Little Break Won't Hurt

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up. As for the title, it is a famous play, but the story has nothing to do with the play. Just read on, and you'll see what I mean.

A/N: Okay, everyone, this is the 5th installment of the NOEbY series. For those of you who have not read the four previous stories yet, I highly recommend that you do. I think it's definitely worth reading. I'll just list the stories so far as they came along:

1 - No One Else but You

2 - The Odd Man Out

3 - A Date to Remember

4 - Parent Trap

If you haven't read any of these, a quick way would be to go to the link on my pen name, and you can find them there. As for those of you who have read the other stories, thank you for bearing with me : ) I really appreciate it. And without further ado, here's…

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West Side Story

A Little Break Won't Hurt

It was a late Friday afternoon in mid-to-late March. Although winter is just about over, Mother Nature always gets her way, and she is not letting the winter season go by without one final turn to cause some havoc. 

"Can you believe this weather?" Jamie said as they had just finished administering one of the many emergencies throughout the day. "It's like hell out there."

"It's more like hell frozen over," said Val. "Without the ice, of course. I mean, would you look at this wind. I hope the ambulance doesn't turn over."

Hank, who was in the passenger seat, quickly buckled his seat belt. Jamie laughed.

"So much for being Mr. Safety," he said.

"Laugh all you want, but I won't be the one sorry if he goes flying out the door when the ambulance crashes."

"Guys, would you cut it out?" Tyler said as he started to get nervous. "You're making me anxious. It's hard enough watching the road already. And saying **_when the ambulance crashes_** instead of **_if it crashes_** is really not helping."

"Where did this blizzard come from anyway?" asked Val. "We haven't seen one of these in years."

"Maybe it came down south from New England. Most of the time, these storms don't really give us much damage because of the Appalachian Mountains covering their path."

"How many more calls do you think we'll have?" asked Jamie.

As faith would have it, they received another call.

"This is vehicle 156, please respond," said Hank.

"We have an emergency off Saddle Drive. A car slipped and crashed into a post. Two are reportedly injured."

"We're on it," Hank responded as Tyler quickly headed towards the street.

"This is going to be a long day," Jamie murmured. "So much for the start of Spring Break."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time they finished their shift, it was already seven in the evening. When they returned to the station, all of them crashed into the nearest chair after almost five hours of nonstop work.

"Remind me again why we're doing this," Hank said. "I think I forgot after that seventh call that we got."

"I believe the reason went along the lines of saving lives on step at a time," Alex said when he overheard him.

"Thanks Alex for that overworked line."

"So, how's the outside world?"

"It's chaos out there," said Tyler. "Visibility is down, and the rain is not helping."

"How many calls did you guys get?"

"I lost count after five-thirty," said Jamie. "Luckily, no one was seriously hurt."

"I really appreciate that you four stayed on your job for an extra two hours."

"You owe us," Val said. "Really, it wasn't a big deal. Time just flew right by us."

"Another team is handling the calls now, so there shouldn't be any other need for you four here. You're dismissed."

All of them gave sighs of relief as they stood up to gather their belongings. 

"Tyler, can I talk to you for a second?" asked Alex.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked.

"No, it's not that. I just need to discuss something with you in private."

"Okay," he said. "I'll be there in a minute."

Alex nodded and left before the rest of the squad bombarded him with questions.

"What was that all about?" asked Val.

"I don't know."

"You better hurry," Hank said. "It's not good to keep the boss waiting."

Tyler left and knocked on Alex's door.

"Come in," he said. "Sit down."

"What's up?"

"I just had a talk with your mother."

"About what?"

"Well, first off, you have a special telegram that came in this morning. Actually, your mother dropped it by before she left on her trip with William. Here."

"What is it?" Tyler asked as he took the envelope. "A letter from college?"

"Not quite. Just read it."

Tyler opened the envelope and read the letter carefully.

"This has got to be a joke," he said. "Is this for real?"

"Well, your mom said so, and I don't think your father would joke about something like that."

"Well, it's a great opportunity and all that, but I have duties here at the station."

"Which is why I called you down here," Alex said. "I've decided that you deserve a break after all your hard work. It's also your Spring Break, and it won't be fair if I let you stay here in this harsh weather instead of going to California."

"So you're letting me go?"

"That's what I said."

Tyler stood up with delight before turning once more to Alex.

"Wait, my dad wrote that I can bring some friends with me," Tyler said with hope in his voice. "Can I bring the three with me?"

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Alex said. "I'm just telling you right now that you four are the best that we have."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"Well, to show you my appreciation, I will allow Jamie, Hank, and Val to have some time off as well, but you have to ask them first, and they need to get approval from their parents."

"So you're letting us go?"

"Call me crazy, but I am."

"Thank you so much, Alex! This is really great."

"You're welcome. You better hurry. Your plane leaves on Sunday."

"Thank you. I promise to return in a week."

"You better. Now go on so I can get back to my work here. I'll see you in a week."

"Bye."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Tyler returned to the locker room, everyone was just about ready to go.

"I need to talk to you guys before you leave."

"Is it something important?" Jamie said. "I'm meeting Caitie at her house in fifteen minutes."

"And Marianne is waiting for me at the pizza parlor," said Hank.

"What are you doing over the break?" he asked all of them.

"Well, I'm staying here, I guess," said Val. "My family is not going anywhere, so I'll probably spend the rest of my time here."

"Same here," said Hank.

"And here," added Jamie. "Why? Do you have something else in mind?"

"What do you say about a trip to the Golden State?"

"I say that's great, but I don't have that much cash to spare," said Hank. "Why? Are you going there?"

"Actually, my dad invited me to spend the break in California."

"That's great," said Val. "You didn't have to ask our permission."

"Guys, I think he wants us to come with him," Jamie said with a smile on his face. "If you are, then I'm definitely in. That would be awesome."

"Really?" said Val. "You want us to come with you?"

"There's no pressure, but I would really love it if you all could come."

"I have to ask my dad first," said Hank. "What about work?"

"Alex gave me permission to go for a week, and he'll give you the same privilege if your parents agree that you could come with me," Tyler replied. "There's no pressure whatsoever, but my dad offered to pay the tickets, and the plane leaves on Sunday."

"What about Caitie?" asked Jamie.

"And Marianne?" followed Hank.

"If you and Val are just going to be drooling over each other, then count me out," said Jamie.

"I second that," said Hank.

Val and Tyler both turned into shades of red before Tyler spoke.

"If they want to come, then they can come. My dad didn't really say how many people I can bring. I'm sure my dad will agree if I ask him. Besides, the more the merrier. "

"A little break won't hurt," said Jamie as they headed out the door. "One problem, though."

"What?" asked Tyler.

"How can we let our parents agree?" Jamie replied, referring to the rest of the group. "Especially Caitie and Marianne."

"We'll have to make it up as we go along. We only have one more day to convince everybody."

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Did you like it so far? You can probably guess where this is heading. Please review! I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	2. Mix and Match

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up. You get the point : )

****

West Side Story

Mix and Match

The weather started to calm down as the three waited for Tyler to finish gathering his stuff. He finally stepped out of the building about a minute later with Alex in tow.

"I heard you guys are deserting me as well," he said. "Am I really that bad?"

Tyler, Val, and Hank didn't need to reply. They simply looked at Jamie.

"Out of all people, I don't think you want a response from me," Jamie said with one of his infamous grins.

"Thank you, Jamie," he laughed. "At least you're being honest. Well, I hope you guys will have fun. Just remember to get back here and start working as soon as you return."

"We will," they all said.

"And don't do anything I wouldn't do, right Jamie?"

"Yes, Mr. Freeman, sir," he saluted, "although I can't promise you any guarantees."

"I better head back," Alex smiled. "The phones are probably ringing. Enjoy yourselves and try to come back in one piece."

As soon as Alex left, they all gathered around in a circle to discuss your plan.

"Okay, so who's picking up who?" asked Val.

"I'm picking up Marianne," said Hank.

"I'm going to get Caitie," said Jamie.

"Why don't we meet at me house?" asked Tyler. "In that way, I can call my dad and tell him about our plans. In the meantime, just tell the girls what we talked about, and hopefully, they would say yes."

"Val, you're coming with me," said Jamie. "I think I can't convince Caitie alone."

"All right," Val said. "What time is it?"

"It's about seven-thirty. Why don't you guys go ahead, and I'll meet you at the house."

Hank retreated to his car and drove off, followed by Jamie and Val, who were riding his motorcycle.

"Good luck," Tyler said. "I hope this works."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It only took Hank a mere five minutes to arrive at the pizza parlor. Unfortunately, he was five minutes too late… to catch Marianne in a good mood. Being a general's daughter, lateness is one of her pet peeves. Hank slowly entered the parlor, preparing for the worst.

"Why do things always have to be so hard for me?" he mumbled as he approached Marianne in one of the booths. "Hi."

"Is that all you can say?" Marianne said. "You're late."

"It's only five minutes."

"Five minutes and thirty-four seconds… thirty-five… thirty- six… thirty-…"

"Okay, all right, I get the point. Geez, you don't have to be so precise. Besides, I have a perfectly good explanation."

"Humor me."

"What do you say about spending the spring break in California?"

"Can you run that by me again?"

"Spring Break… California… Are you interested?"

"Are you inviting me?"

"No, I mean, Tyler's the one inviting us. You see, his dad gave him this present of some sort to go there with some of his friends, and he invited me and you and everybody."

"I don't have the money to buy tickets now."

"Tyler's dad is taking care of the expenses. All you have to do is bring some clothes and whatever."

"When are we leaving?"

"In two days."

"Two days? I have to ask my dad for permission. You guys are all alike. You're all so last minute."

"Why don't we talk about this while we head back to Tyler's house?"

"Why?"

"We're all meeting there. I don't really know, but we better hurry up."

"Well, I don't see any point in staying here. Let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jamie and Val arrived at Caitie's house with a little difficulty. The wind was still blowing a bit, and the road was a bit slick. They were both thankful that nothing but happened. Caitie was waiting outside her house on the porch, surprised to see Val with Jamie.

"What are you doing here?" asked Caitie. "I didn't know you were coming along."

"Actually, I'm afraid we have to make some slight change of plans," said Jamie. "We're going to Connell's house."

"Tyler? Why?"

"He invited us to go to California during the break," replied Val. "We were wondering if you would like to go."

"With Tyler? I'm afraid not."

"Oh, come on, Caitie, he's not that bad."

"Well, you're going out with Mr. Perfect, so your opinion does not count."

"Please, please, please pleeeeaaaasssse," Jamie begged. "It would be fun."

"You're going as well?"

"Why else would I try to convince you to come? Besides, it's not that often that I get to go to California. Anyway, Tyler's a good guy. He may get on our nerves sometimes, but that's how life goes."

"Jamie, I don't think my parents would pay for such a thing."

"Tyler's dad is paying for the tickets," Val said. "It's supposedly a gift or something."

"Come on, Caitie, please? Hank and Marianne are likely to come. You don't want me to be stock with the perfect couple and with Mr. and Mrs. Marianne McLemore."

"Hey, Hank would resent that comment," Val chuckled. 

"Caitie? Are you coming?"

"If it means so much to you, then fine. I'll go."

"Yes!" Jamie cried. "Thank you! I love you!"

"Zip it, Waite," Caitie smiled. "Why don't we use my mom's car? I don't think we'll fit on you bike."

"I'll come back for it later," Jamie said. "Let's go. We don't want to keep Golden Boy waiting."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time the clock struck eight, everyone was inside Tyler's house. They all went into the living. 

"I called my dad earlier. He told me that you need to have your passport and ID among other things."

"This is a nice place," said Marianne in awe. 

"Tell me about it," Hank said. "I would do anything to have this house."

"Oh, really?" Jamie interrupted. "What a big coincidence! And I thought I was the only one."

"Shut up, Waite!"

"I had the same idea," Marianne smiled. "I would give anything to live in a house like this one."

"Great minds think alike," said Hank.

"Oh, that reminds me," Marianne said, "Val, I'll trade you Hank for Tyler."

Jamie erupted in laughter, followed by Caitie, Val, and Tyler. In an instant, Hank's face turned from a satisfied look to one that was not happy at all.

"Did I suddenly turn invisible here? I'm sitting right next to you."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Marianne said to Hank before turning to Val. "So Val, do you want to?"

"I may not be perfect, but I'm certainly not deaf!" Hank said, already irritated.

"Hank, chill out, it was just a joke," said Marianne. "Geez, you can be so melodramatic."

"Well, it's not funny."

"Everyone, especially Jamie, certainly enjoyed it."

"Okay, fine, you had your laugh. HAHA. Why don't we start talking about what to do?"

"I don't know if my plan will work, but let's just try it," said Tyler.

"Well, what's the plan?" asked Caitie.

"We're going to take my mother's van, and we'll go to your houses and ask the parents. Of course, I have to go with all of you since I'm the one responsible for all of this." 

"I still don't get it," said Hank.

"Where did your _great mind_ go?" asked Jamie.

"Maybe you switched mine with yours. Can I take it back now?"

"Guys, would you stop it?" said Val. "Tyler, what do you mean exactly?"

"Well, if we're going to Marianne's house, not only do I have to come with Marianne, but we'll probably need you and Caitie to come help and convince her parents. If were desperate enough, Hank will come with us as well."

"I'm touched," said Hank. "So, you're saying that we should mix and match people to get the best combination to help persuade everybody."

"That sounds about right. We better hurry though. I don't think your parents will appreciate any visits later than nine."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First stop… The Lanier residence. It shouldn't be too hard considering that both parents knew Tyler. Of course, in case of any trouble, Caitie was there to accompany them.

"Good evening, kids," said Steve Lanier as he opened the door for them to come in. "What brings you here?"

"Dad, can I go to California with my friends?"

"What?!?" popped in Joanna from the kitchen. "California?"

"That's what I said."

"Honey, we can't afford that now. Besides, we already planned to go visit your grandmother."

"That's where I come in," said Tyler. "My dad offered to pay for the travel expenses. All Val really needs is her passport and ID and some travel necessities, and we leave on Sunday morning."

"We can't let your dad pay for that amount of money," said Steve. "He doesn't even know Val that well."

"Everything's fine. Trust me. He's doing it as a favor for me. It's a present. Sort of."

"It's up to Val," said her mother. "If she wants to go, then she can go. And from the looks of it, I think it's a no brainer."

"I love you guys!" Val said as she gave her parents a hug. "I can't wait to tell Brooke."

"I'm afraid you just have to leave her a message. She won't be back from her school trip until Sunday afternoon."

"Oh, well, I'll think of something to make it up to her. Anyway, we still have to go somewhere."

"Who else is coming on this trip?" asked her dad.

"Caitie, Jamie,… Everybody," Val said. "I'll see you guys later."

"Don't worry, folks," Caitie said before following the two. "I'll keep an eye on her."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Val's house, they stopped at Jamie's house, followed by Hank's. Only Tyler was needed to come with each of them to let the parents agree. Needless to say, they were the easiest tasks of the night. After Hank's house… The Roths. For this one, Val, Marianne, and even Jamie tagged along.

"Caitie?" said her dad as he led them in. "I thought you'd be gone until ten."

"I had a change of plans. Blame it on these people."

"What did they do?"

"They want me to go with them to California for the break," Caitie said. "Can you believe that?"

"What is Caitie doing?" Tyler whispered to Jamie.

"I have no idea."

"Hey, if you want to go, then go," said her dad. "I'm not stopping you. Besides, Valerie here will keep an eye on you. You know, in case you stir up some trouble in the west. Who's idea was this anyway?"

"Tyler's," she pointed at him. "He said his dad offered to pay and stuff. What a rich loser!"

"Valerie is coming, right?"

"Everyone's going."

"Well, that's good. Are you coming in now?"

"We still have one more thing to do. I'll come back around ten."

"Bring back your mother's car."

"I will. See you, Dad."

After Mr. Roth was out of sight, the four of them could only look at Caitie in surprise.

"What the heck were you doing?" asked Tyler. 

"What do you mean? I was asking my dad if I could come."

"Caitie, it looked like you were trying to sabotage any chance of you going with us," said Jamie.

"That's just how we communicate," Caitie said. "You obviously don't know me as well as you think. Besides, he said yes, didn't he? You should be thanking me."

"For what?" asked Val.

"For saving us some extra time. We are going to Marianne's house next, aren't we?"

"She has a point," Marianne said. "Maybe Hank can come this time."

"Where is he anyway?" asked Val.

Hank picked the right time to pop his head out of the window.

"Guys, please hurry up. I really got to go."

"Go where?" asked Jamie.

"Nature calls."

"Ohhh… Oh, guys, hurry up," said Jamie. "Hank is about to explode."

"Shut up, Jamie! Just get in here so Tyler can drive!"

"I don't know where Marianne lives," Tyler said.

"Fine!" Hank said. "I'll drive. Man, do I have to do everything?"

"That's the price you pay for a great mind," Jamie replied.

"Jamie, shut the hell up!" Hank screamed.

Jamie raised both his hands as if to surrender.

"Hank, shut up and drive," Marianne said.

"Okay…" Hank nodded and turned on the engine. "And not a single word, Jamie."

Jamie pretended to zip his lips after a short laugh. He always found it amusing how Hank always follows what Marianne tells him to do.

"Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived at the McLemore residence a few minutes later. Knowing how Mr. McLemore didn't really have a good impression on him, Jamie opted to stay in the van. As expected, Mr. McLemore opened the door.

"What's all the riot about?" he asked.

"What riot?" asked Caitie.

"You're teenagers. That's what you do."

"Dad, there's no riot. We just want to ask you something. Actually, I have to ask you something."

"Why don't you come in?"

"Okay, but we won't be long."

"What do you want to ask me?"

"Can I use your bathroom?" Hank interrupted.

"What?"

"I mean, sir, can I use your bathroom, sir?"

"It's the door on the left near the kitchen."

"Thanks," Hank said immediately before departing.

"So Marianne, what did **you** want to ask me?"

"Tyler invited all of us to go to California for Spring Break."

He looked at the only guy left in the room besides him.

"You must be Tyler."

"I am."

"And these two girls are coming as well."

"We are," Val and Caitie said.

"Tyler Connell, right?"

"That's right," Tyler replied. "How did you know?"

"I've heard of you. I assume that you're dad is paying for these plane tickets."

"How did you know?" he asked again, but this time, he was getting a little nervous.

"I know who you're father is, and I know that he lives in California. In fact, I know he came here a couple of weeks ago."

"Did Marianne tell you?"

"No."

"But how do you know all of these information?"

"I talked to your dad. Meeting with me was actually part of his trip here."

"Oh, he didn't tell me."

"That's why it's called a classified engagement," Marshall replied. "Of course, the whole ordeal is over now."

"So can I go?" Marianne said. "It beats staying here for a week doing nothing."

"As long as you don't get yourself in trouble."

"I won't."

"And you have to call at least once a day."

"I will. Thank you so much. I'll be back later tonight. We have to go somewhere."

"Okay, you're dismissed."

They all went back to the car, with Jamie anxiously waiting for them.

"How did it go?"

"He said yes," Marianne said. "So, what are we doing next?"

"Let's just go back to my house. Everyone's car is there anyway."

The car was surprisingly quiet. All the bickering between Jamie and Hank stopped. As they arrived on his driveway, Tyler abruptly stepped on brake. Suddenly, the silence had made more sense.

"Hey guys, where did Hank go?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After several minutes since he came in, Hank finally finished doing his thing. When he came out of the bathroom, he saw Mr. McLemore staring at him.

"It must have been quite an emergency," he said. "It only took you, what, like ten minutes. Why are you still here?"

"I'm sorry sir. I better go outside. My friends are probably waiting."

When Hank went outside, his friends were out of nowhere. Having no choice, he went back to the house and knocked on the door.

"Why are you still here, Hank? What do you want?"

"Sir, can you by any chance take me back to Tyler's house, sir?" he asked desperately. "Please?"

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I hope you liked it! I'll write chapter 3 soon. It's hard writing 2 stories simultaneously. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	3. The Words Women Use

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I also don't own any products or materials that you might recognize in the nonfiction world. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up. You get the point : ) The "article" in the paper is actually an e-mail that I received from someone.

A/N: I took way too long this time. I'd completely understand if you won't read this again. I'm really sorry.

****

West Side Story

The Words Women Use

It was just around four o'clock in the morning when Tyler started to wake up. He could hear the loud blast from the radio as he started to get out of bed. It took him a minute or so to be aware of what was going on around him or why he was getting up early. The realization that he was going on an early flight to LA finally caught up with him, but what he was about to realize next was something that he hoped was just a dream.

"Why is my suitcase empty?" he asked sleepily when he saw it on the floor before realizing that he had somehow fallen asleep last night and forgot to finish packing.

In an instant, he was fully awake and was going around his room like crazy. One by one, his drawers were opened, and one by one, they were all emptied. Seeing that he had no time to be organized and check what he was missing, he just grabbed everything in sight and threw them into his suitcase. His suitcase literally looked like Hurricane Andrew just paid a visit to it.

"That doesn't look appealing," he said as he looked at what he had accomplished in distaste.

After he managed to just barely fit everything in just one suitcase, he hurried to the shower and hoped that he wasn't too late. By the time he was leaving the house, it was almost five-thirty. They all planned to meet at the airport around six o'clock.

"I'm going now, Mom."

"You better be careful," she said. "Send my regards to your father."

"I will. Are you sure you and William will be all right?"

"We'll be fine. Don't worry. Enjoy yourself while you're there."

"You two behave yourselves," Tyler smiled. "I'll see you in a week."

"I'll miss you, honey. Call me when you get there."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

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Tyler reached the parking area and was already fifteen minutes late when he found a parking spot. Wasting no more time than he already had, he quickly grabbed his suitcase and headed for the airport. He was trying to figure out what to say in order not to sound stupid in front of his friends when he saw Jamie and Hank enter the building at the same time.

"Hey guys!" he greeted them with a sigh or relief. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who's late. So what's your story?"

"My car broke down in the middle of traffic," they both said simultaneously and looked at each other.

"I guess **"great minds"** do think alike," Tyler joked.

"Don't even start," Hank said. "It's too early for that."

"You two forgot to pack last night, didn't you?" asked Tyler.

"Basically," Jamie said and Hank just nodded. "You too, right?"

"Guilty," Tyler said. "I bet the girls are already inside."

"Hell will break lose any time now," Jamie said.

When they went in, the girls were already standing near the check-in line. When they saw the guys, it was obvious from the look on their faces that they weren't slightly amused.

"Man, can you believe the traffic out there?" Jamie said as they approached them.

"Very slick, Jamie," Hank whispered.

"Thanks," he whispered back.

Caitie just shook her head and pointed at the small TV screen across them.

"THERE SEEMS TO BE NO TRAFFIC AROUND THE AREA THIS MORNING," said the reporter. "ALL OF YOU HEADING TO THE AIRPORT SHOULD HAVE NO TROUBLE GETTING THERE."

"You were saying?" said Caitie with a smile.

"Hehe," he laughed nervously. "I must have taken the wrong road."

"And what's your excuse, Hank?" asked Marianne. 

"My… My car… It… I followed the wrong person on the road."

"Oh, could it have been Jamie?" Marianne mocked.

"I… I guess it was. Maybe. I wasn't paying attention."

"Well, Tyler, I'm just dying to hear what you have to say," said Val.

"Well, let's see, if Jamie was **"stuck"** in traffic, and Hank followed the **"wrong guy,"** then that leaves me with my car breaking down," said Tyler with a triumphant smile on his face. "Any more questions, ladies, or do we have to be late than we already are?"

Caitie, Marianne, and Val stood up, grabbed their own suitcases, and gave a loud sigh before leaving the three to go to the check-in line.

"You sure showed them," Jamie said as he gave Tyler a high five.

"Well, at least that kept them off out backs," Tyler said.

"Did you guys just see that?" asked Hank. "They all just sighed loudly."

"Hank, it's just a sigh," said Tyler. "Live with it."

"Don't you know what that means?"

"It's just a sigh," Jamie said. "What did you think it meant?"

"It only meant that they think we're idiots at the moment and wonder why they are wasting their time standing here and arguing with us over nothing."

"And you knew that because…" said Jamie.

"CosmoGirl," Hank said.

"CosmoGirl?" asked Tyler.

"I'm not even going to ask," said Jamie. "Come on, Tyler. Let's leave our feminine friend here alone."

Hank just stood on his place as he watched the two guys leave.

"Guys! It's not like I enjoyed it! Marianne said it would help me understand her better. Guys! Wait up! I only read it twice!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they got inside the aircraft, they found out that they were assigned in two rows of three. Before the guys could have any say on who would sit with whom, the girls already decided that they would sit together as will the guys.

"That's not fair," said Jamie. "I don't want to be stuck with these two."

"The feeling is mutual," said Tyler.

"Well, guys, after your stunt this morning, this is what it has to be," said Marianne.

"Sorry James," said Caitie, "but the verdict has already been decided."

"But we only forgot to pack our stuff from the night before," complained Tyler.

"Case closed," Val said.

The three girls headed towards row 7, which was three rows back from where the guys will be sitting.

"Come on, guys," said Hank as he draped his arms on their shoulders. "I'll tell you all about what I read on the words that women use. It'll be fun."

"I'm not even going to argue anymore," said Tyler as he sat on the window seat, followed by Hank in the middle and Jamie, of course, in the aisle seat.

"What's the point?" said Jamie. "Talk away Hank."

"Okay, so as an introduction to this whole thing, this is basically a warning for guys to avoid future arguments and so forth."

"How long is this flight, Tyler?" Jamie interrupted.

"About seven hours," said Tyler.

"Terrific," said Hank. "Anyway, women use a list of words that most guys might interpret differently. Let's start with the word FINE. This is the word that they use at the end of any argument that they feel they are right about but need to shut us up."

"Is that really the reason why they…" started Tyler.

"Don't interrupt me," said Hank.

"Okay, sorry Ma'am."

"Also, you should NEVER use fine to describe how women look. This will cause you to have one of those arguments."

"But they always say we look fine," said Jamie. "Why does it matter?"

"No interruptions," said Hank. "Man, how many times do I have to repeat myself? Everything that I say is true, so don't question it."

"You're not fun to talk to," said Jamie.

"Get over it," he said. "The next one is pretty important. It's called FIVE MINUTES. Now don't be fooled by this one. This actually means half an hour. It is equivalent to the five minutes that our football game is going to last before we take out the trash or whatever. I personally feel that it's an even trade. As for NOTHING, this means something and you should be on your toes. Nothing is usually used to describe the feeling a woman has of wanting to turn you inside out, upside down, and backwards. It usually indicates an argument that will last five minutes and end with the word fine……………"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours and meal breaks have passed until the plane was ready to land. Except for the couple of meal interruptions, bathroom emergencies, and an hour or so of sleep, Tyler and Jamie have basically endured the wrath of Hank.

"YOUR FLIGHT WILL BE ARRIVING SHORTLY. PLEASE FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS."

"Finally," Jamie said. "Freedom at last!"

"Thank you, Mr. Pilot!" said Tyler.

"Oh, I see that you two are awake now," said Hank, who just came back from the bathroom. "Let's finish our discussion."

"No," said Jamie. "I can't stand it anymore."

"Please Hank," begged Tyler. "Spare us the details."

"THANKS A LOT!" said Hank as he stepped over Jamie's legs and took his seat.

"What is that supposed to mean?" said Jamie. "You're not really mad, are you?"

"No, but women would say thanks a lot when they are really ticked off at you. It signifies that you have hurt them in some callous way and will be followed by the loud sigh. Be careful not to ask what is wrong after the loud sigh though for she will only tell you nothing."

Jamie was now looking at Hank with looks that could kill.

"I am going to kill you when we land," Jamie said.

"Well, we're still floating on thin air."

"You better start running when we get out of here."

Five minutes later, the plane landed, and they were all free to go. Tyler and Hank zoomed out of the plane before anybody else.

"I can't believe we're finally here," said Hank. "No homework. No parents. It's like a dream come true. I'm so excited."

"Good for you, Hank," said Marianne. "How was your flight, guys?"

"Let's just say that it was more informative than I have hoped for," replied Tyler. "Much more informative." 

"Hey, just remember whom to thank when you really need them," said Hank before turning to his side to see Jamie looking at him. "You really weren't kidding, were you?"

"I'll give you three seconds," Jamie said. "Three… Two…One…"

Hank dropped his bag and started running with Jamie not too far behind him.

"And they're off!" Tyler exclaimed. "Those two have been at it like cats and dogs."

A couple of minutes have passed and the two guys still didn't return.

"Caitie, we don't ask much from guys, but do you know what we get?" said Marianne.

At that exact moment, Jamie and Hank passed their way again, yelling, screaming, and doing anything to disturb the so-called "peace" at the airport.

"A couple of immature animals," Caitie replied. "Where did we go wrong?"

"Tyler!" called someone from a far.

"Dad!" Tyler called back and met him halfway. "How long have you been waiting?"

"Not too long. I was going to be here sooner if it wasn't for those two crazy kids who were running around me. They looked strikingly familiar."

"I guess you've already met up with Jamie and Hank," Tyler said. "They're really not that bad once they settle down."

Tyler brought his dad to the rest of his friends and introduced them.

"Dad, this if Caitie, that's Marianne, and you know Val already."

"How are you girls doing? How was your flight? These guys didn't give you a hard time, did they?"

"We're fine," replied Val. "The flight was okay."

"As for the guys, we're just pretending that we don't know them right now," said Caitie.

"Why don't we get all of your things so we can get all of you settled?"

"Where exactly are we staying, Dad?"

"At my house," he replied. "Where else are you supposed to stay?"

"Isn't it a little small for six more people?"

"I've done some renovating a few months ago. I guess you could call it a beach house now. I'm quite certain that there's plenty of room for your friends."

"I'm looking forward to seeing it."

A security guard approached them with Jamie and Hank in tow.

"Are these two troublemakers with you?"

"Unfortunately," mumbled Caitie.

"Yes, they're with us," Tyler said. "Thanks for bringing them back."

"Don't mention it. I suggest that you bring a leash for these two next time. We don't appreciate rackets around here."

"We'll keep that in mind. Thank you, sir."

When the security guard left, Jamie and Hank collapsed on the nearest seats.

"What the heck were you two thinking?" asked Marianne. "This isn't a playground, you know."

"Chill out, Marianne," said Hank. "We were only fooling around."

"My point exactly!" she told him and followed it with a loud sigh. "Can we go now, Mr. Connell?"

"I don't see why not. The sooner we leave this place the better. It's going to get more crowded by the minute."

Mr. Connell led the way, followed by Tyler and Val, Caitie and Jamie, and Hank and Marianne.

"Can I say something?" Hank asked Marianne.

"Whatever."

"Well, for the record, I am not an idiot."

"I never said you were."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I DIDN'T!" she screamed at him and sighed loudly once again before catching up with the rest of the group and leaving Hank by himself.

"You just said it again," Hank called out. "Women! Why can't you make up your minds?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I hope you liked it! I need to start writing more. I have many ideas for future fics already! I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	4. Two Summers Ago

__

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up. You get the point : )

****

West Side Story

Two Summers Ago

As they made a stop at the middle of traffic, memories of the place started coming back to Tyler, but when his dad made a left turn instead of a right, something didn't quite click.

"Dad, isn't the way to the house on the right?" Tyler asked.

"Actually, when I told you that I _renovated_, I forgot to tell you that I _relocated_ as well."

"Where do you live now?"

"It is a beach house, so you can guess where I moved."

It took them ten more minutes before finally arriving at the house. Not surprisingly, the beach house turned out to be as good as expected from someone with the surname of Connell. It was a two-story house on a considerably huge lot. The place was located on an elevated ground that oversaw the beach, which was only a walking distance, and if that wasn't good enough, it even had a pool: front and center. In a nutshell, the property was more than enough for its one person resident.

"Wow," Hank said. "It looks better than I expected."

The rest of them just nodded.

"You live here by yourself?" asked Jamie.

"A couple of families have rented the place, and I occasionally come here once in a while, but to answer your question, well, not really. The truth is, I spend most of my time in the city, and I end up living out of hotel rooms, if you know what I mean."

"You are staying here, right?" asked Tyler.

"Of course. I mean, Ill try my best. You know how it is, and please don't get upset, but I have to leave for a couple of days."

"I understand," he replied, trying to hide his disappointment. "Can we go in now?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the entire luggage has been carried inside, Matthew Connell directed them to their respective rooms.

"There are five rooms in the house: two downstairs and three upstairs. My room is upstairs on the right end of the hallway, so that's off limits. Your rooms will be down here since they are much bigger. The room to the left of that hallway will be the guys' room. There is a bunk bed and a separate bed. The room just across that will be the girls' room. There are three beds. Each room has a designated bathroom, and they're all big enough for three occupants per room. Any questions?"

"When can we eat?" Hank asked.

"Food will be out soon," Matthew laughed. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

As Tyler's dad left, they all proceeded to carry their bags.

"Pig!" Marianne said.

"Did you say something?" Hank asked.

"Nothing," Marianne said.

"You said something!" Hank replied.

Out of nowhere, Jamie and Tyler started scrambling and headed straight for the room.

"What's going on?" Hank asked.

"I think they're trying to vie for the best bed in the room," Val told him.

Hank turned to Marianne with an exasperated look.

"This is all your fault," he said before catching up to them.

"Why am I dating him again?" Marianne kidded.

"Guys!" Caitie sighed, before hearing Val and Marianne follow the guys' lead. "Well, so much for that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After they finished eating, they went back to their respective rooms to finish setting up their belongings.

"How was dinner?" Mr. Connell asked as he marched inside the guys' room.

"Dinner was terrific, Mr. Connell," Hank said. "I liked that _thing_ with the sauce and all that."

"Thank you, Hank. How about for you two?"

"Hank didn't seem to mind," Tyler said.

"Hey, if it's good enough for Hank, then it's good enough for Hank," added Jamie.

"I guess that means you liked it as well. I'm glad. I better leave you all to finish what you're doing. If you want to head out later, feel free to go. I'll be in my office."

"Before you go, where exactly is your office?" asked Tyler.

"It's behind those two brown doors near the main entrance."

"Okay, thanks Dad."

"Tyler, what time is it?"

"Well, if we were back in Virginia, we arrived at the airport around 12:30 and here an hour later. We settled ourselves and had lunch, which should comprise an hour. If my calculations are correct, it should be around 11:30 here."

"I could've told you that, Mr. Rocket Scientist," Hank said. "There's a big clock hanging on the wall."

"Well, that would have worked, too," Tyler said.

"Once a nerd, always a nerd," Hank said.

"Hank, would you quit talking about yourself?" Jamie said. "And Tyler, he was also referring to you."

"Thank you for your kind words, Mr. I-Wanna-Be-Bad," said Hank.

"Nice comeback, Hank," commented Tyler. "Really nice."

"Oh, shut up!"

"Do you guys want to do something after we finish up?" asked Tyler.

"We can walk around the neighborhood or something," Jamie said. "We have plenty of time to do whatever."

"Hank, tell the girls what we're doing after you finish, okay?" said Tyler.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Do you think it matters?"

"Is it up to me?"

"Do you think it's up to you?"

"Do you think that I think that it's up to me?"

"Do you think that I think that you think that I think that it's up to you?"

"Do you think that I think that you think that I think that you think that I think that it's up to me?"

"Do you think that I think that you think…"

"STOP IT!" Jamie yelled. "You know, this just proves what I said earlier. Geez, is this what you two do all day? How do you expect somebody to follow that conversation, if it was one. I mean, did the words you said mean anything to you? Are you trying to drive me crazy?"

"I can't really follow you since you're talking _freakishly fast_, that's an alliteration by the way, but to answer that last question, it's second nature to me," Hank said.

"Hank, would you please _benignly impede_ yourself from _articulating_ any word for just one _laconic_ second?"

"Whoa! Where did that come from? Having an aftershock from you Academic Team experience?"

"It's either that, or you're rubbing off on me in the most unfortunate way."

"I think we should stop talking for a few minutes here and get our work done," Tyler said. "We're starting to act like the people across the hall."

"Good idea."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The "people across the hall" were sitting around the room as they talked to each other. They were done for almost ten minutes and were just waiting for the guys to finish up. Not a moment too soon, they heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," Marianne said as Hank popped in the room. "Oh, it's him."

"I'm glad to see you, too, Marianne. Anyway, we want to know if you ladies want to look around the neighborhood with us."

"We've been waiting here for ten minutes," said Caitie. "What took you guys so long?"

"It's a long story," Hank replied. "It's really nothing. Let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After hours of wandering around, they settled on the beach and resumed talking about whatever popped into their heads.

"Whose been here before?" asked Marianne.

"Hank came with me about two summers ago, although it was an entirely different house, and we only rented a beach house around here for the rest of the summer."

"What did you guys do?"

"We did what the average person would do in a setting like this," said Hank. "It was pure fun, although Tyler right here had something on the side."

"What happened?" asked Val curiously.

"I don't remember," Tyler replied as he looked at Hank.

Until now, the thought didn't really cross his mind. It wasn't something that he wished to remember. As Hank mentioned, it was something on the side. It was the summer after their freshman year. At the time, he didn't really acknowledge Val as one of his close friends, let alone someone he would be interested in romantically. He was younger then, and one could say that he was even foolish. At a place like where he is now, anything can happen. It all started with that one girl.

"It wasn't really a story worth telling," Hank covered when he noticed the discomforted look on Tyler's face.

As it turns out, Hank was not the only one who noticed. It grew evident when everyone stopped speaking, and the four who weren't there two summers ago became increasingly curious. The look on Tyler's face only added to their curiosity. For Val, the look on his face only spelled** T-R-O-U-B-L-E**. As fate would have it, **T** was right around the corner.

"Speak of the devil," Hank said under his breath, though only Marianne and Jamie heard him.

Approaching them was a brunette in a skimpy swimming outfit. Despite her beauty and obvious attractiveness, she is the person Hank wished to never come across again. There were a number of people on the beach, and Hank hoped she would alter her course, but luck would not be on his side on this matter. As expected, she continued to head towards them as though there was a big sign that gave away their location.

"Long time no see, Connell," she greeted him.

Tyler was not even aware of what Hank witnessed, yet he knew who the person was by her voice. There could only be one person, and he was sure of it. Gradually, he looked up at the face he once longed admired. As he stood up to meet her, the feeling that he once had on that fateful summer started to return to him, and the people around him started to disappear.

"Surprised to see me?"

"I guess you can call it that," Tyler said.

"You sound nervous."

"I am? No way. Is there a reason why I should be… nervous?"

"Is there?" she asked rather alluringly.

As she watched and listen to them responding to each other, Val can't help but feel resentment and jealousy to the stranger who seems to be sweeping Tyler off his feet. Inspite of those feelings, nothing worried her more than the fear that maybe… maybe… she would lose Tyler.

"Val, are you okay?" asked Caitie, who seemed to have felt her worries and doubts.

"I'm fine."

"Who's the hot babe?" whispered Jamie.

Upon hearing this comment, Caitie stomped on his foot, not only for making Val feel bad and her angry, but also for using such a title when referring to a girl.

"I'm sorry. I meant to say _'who's the hot girl?'_"

When he saw Caitie glare at him, he immediately moved his feet out of her distance.

"So Hank," Jamie continued. "Care to fill me in?"

"You wouldn't want to get tangled in her web," Hank said.

"I don't plan to," Jamie said. "I'm just curious like everyone else here."

"That's Tonya Miller," Hank said. "Tyler and I met her…"

"Two summers ago," Jamie said. "Yeah, yeah, we get it, but what's her story?"

"I don't really know. I never really had any deep, let alone real conversation with her."

"She doesn't look like she's capable of one," Caitie said.

"All I can say is that she has the looks, the body, and the personality to go with it."

"What's the deal with her and Tyler?" asked Marianne, but regretted it the second she saw Val squirm at her question.

"She's Tyler's ex."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I'm really sorry it took long. I hope you liked it! I just got back from CA. Like I said before, I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182 


	5. The Case of the Ex

__

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up. Any products or location or other stuff that are familiar to you are not mine as well. You get the point : )

****

West Side Story

The Case of the Ex

Until now, Val had never thought of having to deal with such a scenario. She knew that Tyler had relationships in the past. Even she had a few, but none of them ever really came up. He didn't have any serious relationships with anyone at the school, so the possibility of such a scene happening was slim to none. After Hank confirmed her worst fear, she wasn't sure what to do or how to deal with it.

"Ex-girlfriend?" Val said to make sure that she heard him right.

"Unfortunately," Hank said. "But don't worry. It wasn't serious or anything." 

Tyler continued to talk to Tonya while the rest of them simply became a distraught audience. The fact that he totally forgot about them made Val upset, and the fact that he seemed to be enjoying the conversation made her uneasy. When she couldn't take it anymore, Val ran back to the beach house.

"I better follow her," Caitie said. "I'll see you guys later."

"I feel bad," Marianne said as they watched Caitie leave. "If I was in the same position, I would rip her eyes out."

"You have nothing to worry about, Marianne," Jamie said with a smirk. "We're talking about Hank here."

"Very funny," Hank said. 

"So was Tyler like totally in love with her or something?"

"It's more like a big crush," Hank said. "He thought he was in love, and maybe he was, but I would say that it was just a big obsession. An infatuation of some sort."

"I can't argue with that," Jamie said. "I mean, just look at her."

"Don't you even dare," Marianne told Hank as he proceeded to turn his head.

"I wasn't going to look," Hank said. "I was just going to peek."

"Yeah right," Jamie said.

"She's not my type anyway," Hank said. "I mean, yeah, she's really hot and all."

"Just stop talking, alright?" Marianne said. "I'm going to catch up with the girls. I'll see you later."

"Bye

"And Jamie…"

"Yeah?"

"Watch him," she said, referring to Hank, "and stop drooling, or Caitie will never hear the end of this."

"I get your point," Jamie said.

When Marianne was out of sight, they both looked at Tonya and Tyler.

"So, when should we get his attention?" asked Jamie.

"Now?" Hank said.

"Tyler!" Jamie yelled. "When are you going to let us meet your friend?"

Tyler looked around, as though startled that they had company. After a few words with Tonya, he brought her to meet them… at least two of them.

"Hey guys, this is Tonya Miller. She's an old friend of mine. Tonya, you know Hank, right?"

"I vaguely remember, but he looks familiar."

"I hardly remember you as well," Hank faked a smile.

Tonya frowned for a moment and turned her attention to Jamie.

"And who is this guy over here?"

"That guy over there is Jamie," Tyler continued, "and…wait, where did the girls go?"

"They all went after your _girlfriend_," Jamie said. "She wasn't feeling very well."

"Girlfriend?" said Tonya. "I thought you were only here with your friends."

"Well, yeah, I said that, but just because she's my girlfriend doesn't mean that she's not my friend as well."

"I see," she said. "So what happened? She didn't want to meet me?"

"Who would?" Hank murmured.

Tonya glared at him for a moment.

"I better go," Tonya said. "I suddenly feel _unwanted_ here."

"Well, if you must go, then go," Hank told her. "We're _really_ going to miss you."

"I'm sure you will," Tonya said. "I'll see you around, Tyler."

"See you around."

After Tonya was out of sight, a rather annoyed Tyler turned to Hank.

"What was that all about?"

"I should ask you the same thing," Hank said.

"What are you talking about? You were the one being rude and sarcastic. Why? Do you have a problem with her or something?"

"If you must know, yes, I do have a problem with her. The question is, why are you talking to her?"

"She's an old friend."

"After what she pulled on you, you still call her your friend?"

"What does it matter to you?"

"You know, this isn't just about me. When you saw her again, you totally forgot about us, especially Val. As I recall, you didn't even care to mention her to Tonya."

"It didn't come up."

"She was all over you, dude," Jamie said with a stereotypical California surfer accent. "She was like totally all over you."

"No, she wasn't," Tyler said. "We were just talking."

"Fine, but seriously, if you just talking, I don't care," Jamie said. "One thing's for sure, you have got to do major explaining to Val. I think what just happened scared her a bit."

"She looked upset, too," added Hank.

"She had nothing to worry," Tyler said. "I'm not going to leave her over Tonya."

"Well, it was intimidating," Jamie said. "Tonya looked like she just stepped out from a Victoria Secret catalog."

"Where did she go?" Tyler asked.

"Probably back to the house," Hank said.

"I guess I better go and talk to her."

"Give her a little time," Hank said.

"Yeah, or else she'll tear your eyes out," Jamie followed.

"Val wouldn't do that," Tyler said.

"If a woman is irrational, then there's no way to tell what she would do. They're unpredictable."

"This is Val were talking about," Tyler said. "She's not exactly the type who would physically attack somebody."

"You have a point," Jamie said. "The worst thing she could do is either not talk to you or yell at you for eternity. Heck, she could dump you right now."

"Thanks Jamie," Tyler said. "That's very comforting to know. Getting beat up by her is actually sounding better than emotional torture."

"Great," Hank said. "Let's go back to the house."

"Now?" Tyler said. "I thought you told me to give her time."

"Well, I know, but you have to deal with this now. The sooner the better."

"Why is _sooner_ better?" 

"If you take longer to approach her, she might get all these ideas in her head, and it'll be harder to convince her that she's being delusional," Jamie said.

"I guess you're right."

"Am I ever wrong?"

"Really Jamie," Hank said, "do you really want us to answer that?"

"Point taken. Let's go"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caitie and Marianne were talking in the living room when the door opened.

"Look who's here," Caitie said. "How did you guys manage to get Tyler away from that…"

"Caitie," Marianne warned her. "Don't say it. You'll just make things worse."

"Fine."

"Where's Val?" asked Tyler.

"Oh, I'm surprised you remember her name," Caitie said.

"Caitie, would you just back off," Tyler said. "I'm not in the mood for this."

"She's in the deck," Caitie told him, "but if you're just going to upset her, then just leave her alone. You…"

"Caitie, would you chill out for a sec," Jamie interrupted "You're acting like he cheated on her or something."

"Any time now," Caitie said.

"Okay, everybody, just calm down," Hank said. "Nothing happened. We shouldn't let out own emotions get in the way of things. I mean, this is supposed to be our vacation. Let's not make things worse."

"Caitie, I would never do anything to hurt Val," Tyler said. "I was just talking to…"

"You don't need to explain yourself to me," Caitie said. "Just go."

"Okay. I will."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Val looked toward the horizon. The breeze was getting colder as the sky slowly turned darker. The sun, not so far ahead in the distance, was just about to set. Looking at it, Val wished that her relationship with Tyler would not end like it. The thought made her shiver more so than the chill of the wind. She heard the door open a few minutes earlier. She supposed that it was the guys. Any moment now, Tyler would probably be looking for her. 

"Don't bother coming," she thought out loud. "You're the last person I need to see right now."

Tyler stopped on his tracks. How she knew he was behind her was beyond him. He was quite sure that he didn't make a single sound that she would have possibly heard. Ignoring her request, he slowly continued on his course and settled himself next to her.

"Nice view."

Val was surprised, although she showed no hint of it whatsoever. She didn't even hear him approach her. She continued to ignore him.

"What are you doing out here?" Tyler asked. "It's cold."

Val didn't answer him.

"I know you're mad at me."

"No kidding."

"Oh, you're actually talking. We're making progress here."

"We would be if you'd just go away."

"Val, come on, don't do this."

"Tyler, just leave me alone. Better yet, why don't you go visit your ex-girlfriend? You'd rather spend time with her."

"Where is all this coming from?"

"You tell me."

"Val, she's just a friend."

"Whom you were so excited to see that I suddenly became yesterday's news."

"That's not true."

"Tyler, when I saw you with her, you seemed so elated. It was like you were in love with her. After hearing what Hank said and finding out who she was, I got scared. Things like this happen all the time."

"What things?"

"Guys leaving their girlfriend for somebody in the past."

"Val, I would never do that to you."

"That's exactly what someone who would do that would say."

"Now you're being paranoid."

"Am I?"

"Yes, you are. How can you think of such a thing?"

"How come you never told me about her?"

"It didn't come up. Besides, it's over."

"How did it end?"

"What do you mean?"

"How did you break up?"

"Why does it matter?"

"It matters a lot."

"I dumped her, okay?"

"You dumped her?"

"That's what I said. I dumped her. End of story."

Val turned silent and faced the horizon once again.

"Are you sure there's nothing going on?" she asked.

"Val, there is nothing going on between me and Tonya," he said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me."

Val looked him straight in the eye. She could tell that he was sincere. Now, she regretted even having the conversation. She never struck herself as the jealous type.

"I'm sorry for acting jealous and all," Val said. "It seemed like I don't trust you, which I do."

"And I'm sorry for acting the way I did a while ago," Tyler said. "I didn't know what got over me. It's just that we haven't seen each other for a long time."

"Did you love her?" she asked.

"What?"

"You know what, never mind. I don't think I'd want to know."

"If you say so," Tyler said. "but you know that I love you, right?"

"I know," Val smiled at him. "I love you, too."

"So you're not mad at me anymore?"

"Not at the moment."

Tyler slowly put his arm around her as Val leaned on his shoulder. They looked on as the sun continued to set. Tyler glanced down at Val as she looked up at him. As the sun disappeared in the background, Tyler, in the spur of the moment, bent his head to kiss her. 

"The hills are alive… With the sound of music…" Jamie sang out loud as he opened the door.

Simultaneous sighs escaped from Val and Tyler as they separated.

"Don't you just love that song?" Jamie said.

"When Julie Andrews sings it," Tyler said.

"I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

"No/Yes," answered both Val and Tyler, respectively.

"I see you two still have some things to work out," Jamie smiled.

"What do you want?" Tyler said.

"Well, the rest of us are going to watch a movie."

"And you wanted to know if we would like to watch it," Val finished. 

"Exactomento!" Jamie said.

"Is that Spanish?" Tyler asked.

"Don't look at me," Val said. "I'm not an expert."

"We'll be right out," Tyler said.

"Okay," Jamie said. "We'll start in five minutes."

"We're okay, then?" Tyler asked as Jamie left.

Before he knew it, Val reached for him and pulled him into a kiss.

"Now we are," she smiled at him. "I'll see you inside."

Tyler looked on as he touched his lips with his fingers.

"I didn't see that coming," he said. "Hank was right after all. They really are unpredictable."

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I'm sorry for the delay. I wasn't really in a writing mood for awhile. I hope you liked it. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	6. Not the Only One

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up. Any products, location, lyrics, or other stuff that are familiar to you are not mine as well.

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West Side Story

Not the Only One

After a late night movie marathon, he got out of bed reluctantly. From the look of things, it was probably still dawn. Seeing that his roommates were still asleep, he crept slowly out of the room. It was still dark outside, and no one seemed to be around to greet him. He opted to look around the house and get reacquainted with it. After fifteen minutes, he decided to go outside and take a long walk on the beach. If he was lucky enough, he might be able to see the sun rise, a spectacle he rarely had a chance to experience, especially on the beach. During his stroll on his way back, he came across an unwelcome passerby.

"Well, well, well, if isn't Hank Beecham… the trusted sidekick of our friend Tyler."

"What do you want, Tonya?"

"What's the matter, Hank? Do you hate me or something?"

"For a lack of a better word, yes, I do."

"How could you say such a thing?"

"You are pathetic."

"Can't we all just get along for Tyler's sake?"

"What do you want from him?"

"I don't think it concerns you what I want from dear old Tyler."

"Stay away from him!"

"I don't think you have a say in anything that I do. Tyler is a big boy. He doesn't need you to look out for him."

"Whatever it is that you have in mind, I'm warning you again, leave him alone. He's happy where he is right now. The last thing that he needs is to be tangled in your web of lies and deceit."

"I'll be the judge of that," she said as she reached to touch his face. "I'll see you later, Hanky boy."

Hank watched her as she left, wiping his face as though to remove the poison from her touch. When she was out of his sight, Hank started to curse and say anything that popped into his mind.

"Are you all right?"

"Marianne?" he turned around. "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same question."

"I couldn't sleep anymore, so I decided to take a walk."

"What was that all about?"

"You saw that, huh?"

"What does she want?"

"Tyler Connell."

"Tyler? He's with Val."

"I don't think it matters to her."

"I'm sure Tyler won't do anything to hurt Val."

"Maybe not intentionally."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that he might fall for her traps again."

"Traps? Now you're really losing me."

"It's a long story, but I know how she works, and it's not pretty."

"Would you stop worrying about her? You're letting her get to you."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Sorry? You didn't even do anything."

Hank smiled and looked back at the horizon. A small glimmer of light was starting to show.

"Look! The sun is about to rise."

"I know. I wanted to see it. That's why I came down here."

"Like I said before, 'great minds think alike.'"

"Well, if that's so, do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

"I think I can guess," Hank replied as he leaned over to kiss her.

The scene looked like a page out of a love story. Two couples in an embrace, as their silhouettes became vivid with the sunrise in the background. Unfortunately, their moment was short-lived.

"Summer loving had me a blast… Summer loving happened so fast…"

"Jamie!" Hank said. "Don't you think you've had enough of _Grease_ from last night, already?"

"Tell me more, tell me more… Did you get very far?" Jamie continued with a devilish grin on his face.

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Not if I can help it!" he yelled as he ran away from him.

"Not again," Marianne said. "It's an ongoing cycle of cat and mouse."

"What's going on down there?"

"It's alright, Mr. Connell. They're just playing around."

"Don't make too much noise. We don't want any complaints from the neighbors."

"I'll tell them."

Hank and Jamie walked back towards her while Jamie stayed as far as possible from Hank.

"What was that all about?" asked Hank.

"He said that you two should stop making a racket and let these other poor people sleep."

"Poor people?" said Jamie.

"You know what I mean."

"Hey guys… and girl," Tyler called out. "What are you doing out here?"

"Marianne and I were in the middle of something until Jamie came bursting in with his rendition of _Summer Nights_."

"Val and I got the _Sound of Music_ last night. What's next, Jamie? A musical piece from the Broadway version of the Lion King?"

"Hakuna Matata!"

"I better go back inside. The girls may be looking for me."

"We'll be in later," said Hank as she left. "And Jamie, I'm not through with you yet."

"Can't we all just get along?"

Hank paused and looked at Tyler. 

"What did I say?" 

"Nothing. It just reminded me of something earlier."

"What happened?" asked Jamie.

"I ran into Tonya."

"Tonya?" asked Tyler.

"Look, Tyler, you have to stay away from her. She's bad news."

"Hank, I think you're overreacting. We're just friends now."

"You sure seemed awfully cozy together," said Jamie.

"We weren't even doing anything. We were just talking. Why does everyone assume that something was going on?"

"Well, what did happen yesterday?" asked Hank. 

"I was just shocked and surprised to see her. It's been a long time."

"Are you sure nothing else? No chemistry? No nothing?"

"Hank, nothing went on. I mean, I did feel something when I saw her. We dated a while back and I was…" he paused to look at Jamie. "… In love with her."

"In love?" said Jamie. "You were only a freshman then."

"Maybe not in love, but I liked her a lot. I had a crush on her since forever, and that summer, she felt the same way about me."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Hank said.

"I know what happened, but it was in the past."

Jamie just steered clear and listened to whatever each of them had to say. He had no clue what happened, and if he just kept quiet, they might spit it out and reward his curiosity.

"You know what, Tyler? People are right. You're too nice for your own good."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that you need to see the facts right in front of you instead of wallowing in your own denial about certain things."

Tyler declined to reply. He just stared at Hank. After a short while, he finally spoke up.

"I don't care what you think. All I know is that nothing is wrong and nothing is going on between Tonya and I. She's a nice person. The past is the past."

"You just proved my point. You're denying it right now."

"What is your problem?"

"I'm just trying to look out for you."

"You know what? Just drop it, okay? I don't need you to look out for me. I can take care of myself."

"Fine."

"I'll see you two in the house."

When Tyler left, Hank dropped his head as though he was just rejected from a job.

"Wow," Jamie spoke up. "I didn't know jocks were capable of being deep and emotional."

Hank looked up and if looks could kill, Jamie would have been dead by the minute.

"I think I'm going to go in now, too."

After Jamie left, Hank sat on the ground. _'I know what she's capable of doing, Tyler,' _he thought_. 'Why won't you just listen to me? Why can't you see it?" _

"Hank!" she called out from behind him. "Breakfast is ready!"

"I'm coming."

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After breakfast, nothing much was happening around the house: Mr. Connell left to get something, Jamie and Caitie are watching TV, Val and Marianne were talking, and Tyler and Hank were still not talking to each other.

"What's going on?" Val asked. "Did they have a fight or something?"

"Who knows?" she lied. "Talk about mood swings. They seemed fine earlier this morning outside."

"Do you know what happened?"

"Well, when Hank was taking a walk this morning, he ran into…"

Marianne stopped herself when she realized that Val wouldn't be too excited to know about Tonya. She was probably the last person that Val wanted to talk about.

"He ran into whom?"

"He ran into… into a dog. Yeah, he ran into a dog," she immediately covered.

"A dog? What does that have to do anything?"

"Well, I don't really know, but the dog was female."

"A female dog? Why would they fight over that?"

"Because Hank got mad at the dog, and when he told Tyler about it, Tyler might have defended the dog, and now they're not talking."

"Ah, I see… Good one, Marianne."

"What?"

"That story you made up about the dog was very creative, but I don't think that's the reason."

"I guess not."

Earlier before breakfast, Hank confided in Marianne about what happened and made her promise not to tell anyone, especially Val. Jamie knows what happened, but he's sensible enough to say a word about it to Caitie, who would in turn most likely tell Val.

"Hey kids!" Mr. Connell greeted when he entered the room. "I have something for you."

"Where?" asked Tyler.

"They're still in the car. Hopefully, they'll be of good use to you."

"What are they?" asked Jamie.

"Rollerblades!"

"All right!" the guys immediately said.

"How do you know our sizes?" asked Caitie.

"You have shoes, don't you?"

"Well, what if we don't know how to use them?" she asked again.

"I'm sure one of these fellas would be glad to teach you."

"That goes for me, too," Val added.

"Marianne?" said Mr. Connell.

"You don't have to worry about me. I've been rollerblading since I was a kid."

"Great! Can you guys help me down here? Hank? Tyler?"

"We're coming," they said.

After they left, Val turned to Jamie to see if he knows anything.

"Jamie, what is going on with them?"

"Hank and Tyler?"

"They're not talking to each other."

"Must be a lover's quarrel," he said as he laughed at his own joke.

"Not funny, Jamie."

Jamie stole a glance at Marianne and noticed that she's been signaling him to not tell what he knows. Without being too obvious, Jamie continued his conversation with Val.

"Yes, it was."

"Jamie!"

"Okay, fine, if you must know, well, I don't know anything."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

"Positive about what?" asked Hank as he came in.

"About not knowing what's going on between you and Tyler."

"Nothing's going on," added Tyler. "What made you think that?"

"You two weren't talking," said Val.

"We were trying to time how long we couldn't talk to each other," said Hank.

"For the lack of anything better to do," added Tyler.

"If you say so," she said. 

"What do you guys plan to do now?" Mr. Connell asked.

"I guess the only thing to do is to try these on," said Tyler.

"Great!" Val and Caitie said unenthusiastically.

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While outside, the three couples split up. Hank and Marianne are obviously having the time of their life. Jamie and Tyler on the other hand were left to pose as instructors to the two amateurs.

"I can't do this," Val said shakily as she tried to balance.

"Come on, it's easy," encouraged Tyler. "You can do this. You're a cheerleader. You have good balance."

"But in cheerleading, we don't have wheels under our feet!"

"Good point!" he smiled. "Come on, just try. Take my hand."

"I'm trying, but you keep backing up away from me."

"Sorry," he said as he slowed down his space.

After a few more minutes, Val was starting to get the hang of things.

"This is actually pretty easy."

"I told you so. Now, can you stay upright without me holding your hand."

"I think I can manage."

When Tyler let go of her hand, Val seemed to stumble forward.

"Whoa, are you all right?"

"You look so cute when you worry," Val said as she skated past him. "I was just kidding."

"Very funny."

Meanwhile, Jamie and Caitie were having a different kind of progress.

"Jamie! I'm going to kill you!"

"I'm only trying to help."

"How can you help me when you're over ten feet away? Are you that stupid?"

"Insults will get you nowhere."

"Well, I'm getting nowhere even before that."

Caitie stumbled again, but thanks to her knee and elbow pads, not much damage was done. Jamie only looked at her and smiled.

"What are you smiling about?"

"You just remind me of little Bambi learning how to walk."

"I'm glad my suffering and embarrassment comes as an amusement to you."

"What? It was a compliment."

"Since when did looking like a fawn become a compliment?"

"That's not what I meant. What I'm trying to say is that you look cute and adorable."

"Adorable? Jamie, do me a favor and don't get all cutesy-wutesy on me. It doesn't suit you."

"I'm not trying to be."

"Then stop taking words from Val's vocabulary."

"I'm not even… okay, I'll stop."

"Good. Now can you come over here and help me. And this time, don't stay no more farther than three feet away from me."

"Got it," Jamie said. "Now all you have to do is try to keep your feet…"

Farther ahead, Hank and Marianne were racing against each other.

"I'm going to beat you," Marianne said as she sped fast ahead of him.

"It's only because I'm letting you win."

"Why Hank? Afraid to lose to a girl when you're trying?"

"If I was trying, I would've beaten you already."

"Actions speak louder than words…"

"Is that a challenge?"

"What do you think?" 

Marianne hurried on forward as Hank tried to catch up with her. Marianne turned her head back to check up on Hank, but she ended up bumping into an individual. Hank immediately came to her side, but the person was already checking up on her.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine. You?"

"Nothing seems to be broken."

"I'm really sorry."

"I'm not," he said as he winked at her.

"What happened?" inquired Hank as he helped her up.

"Nothing," Marianne replied. "We just bumped into each other. No injuries whatsoever, except for this major headache."

"Are you okay?" asked Hank.

"Couldn't be more perfect. I was just taking a walk, but I didn't expect an angel to fall into my lap."

Marianne blushed. _'Is this guy serious?' _he thought._ 'Who talks like that nowadays? Even Tyler doesn't do that.'_

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Marshall R. Faulk."

"Like the football player," Hank said.

"Yeah, only his middle name is William. He's my cousin."

"Oh."

"My dad's first name is Marshall," said Marianne.

"What a coincidence! Maybe it's fate."

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'Are you kidding me?' Hank said to himself. _'You're talking to my girlfriend here.'_

"I guess so," Marianne said. "Maybe we'll see you around."

"Maybe next time you'll be by yourself."

"I don't think my boyfriend here would like that."

Marshall turned to Hank and developed a smirk on his face.

"He's your boyfriend? I'm sorry, I didn't know. It just didn't seem right."

Hank fought the urge to jump on and beat the crap out of him. The reason being that he didn't want to upset Marianne, and from Marshall's much bigger height and muscles, he didn't want to end up in a cast.

"We better go, Hank."

"See you around…" Hank said before whispering to himself, "…loser."

After Marshall was out of sight, they saw their friends not to far ahead. Marianne left Hank to go to the rest of the group. Jamie sensed that something was wrong and approached him.

"What's wrong?" asked Jamie.

"It looks like Tyler is not the only one being chased after."

"What are you talking about?"

"Someone wants Marianne. All I can say now is that you better watch out. You and Caitie may be next."

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I hope you liked it! Please review : ) I'll update as soon as possible. Thanks for reading. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


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